Paradip, Nov. 13: Fuel deficit in thermal power plants in the region has been resolved with record coal handling by Paradip port.

A total of 2.06 million tonnes of thermal coal was handled at the mechanised coal handling plant in October surpassing the previous record of 2.02 million tonnes handled in May.

Paradip is one of the 12 major ports of India. It caters to the needs of thermal power plants in Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.

The coal handling capacity of Paradip port would go up further with the lining up of infrastructure development projects. The centre has already approved the Rs 1,438-crore project, which will be implemented on a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis. The government has approved mechanisation of three berths at the Paradip port for handling thermal coal on the build, operate, transfer mode under PPP, said deputy chairman of the port N. Vaiyapuri.

The port is doing its best to feed the required demand of coal to thermal power plants, Vaiyapuri said. The Paradip facility is strategically situated near the coal mines of Odisha, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.

The shipping ministry is making a big investment in the port to tone up coal-handling facilities. Once these projects are commissioned in the next few years, the port will be handling nearly three hundred million tonnes of coal every year. The Paradip port feeds fuel to thermal plants in 13 states of the country.

Paradip, which is emerging as the second largest port in the country in terms of cargo handling, next only to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Mumbai, has handled 42.50 million tones of cargo during the first seven months of the financial year as compared to 40.27 million tons during the corresponding period last year.

The port's turnover in October was 6.44 million tonnes while the figure was 5.92 million tonnes in the same month last year.

Coal loading has increased by 5.5 per cent during this financial year as compared to corresponding period last year. Coking coal traffic required for steel plants has increased by 7.71 per cent, said a port official.

Paradip port, by virtue of its location and strong hinterland connectivity, continues to be one of the most preferred ports for exporters and traders for handling dry bulk cargo, the port official added.